Proposal for 'Boosting Buseoksa Tourism' ... Yeongju City Council Member Lee Jaewon’s 5-Minute Free Speech

Lee Jae-won (People Power Party, District A), a member of the Yeongju City Council in Gyeongbuk, delivered a 5-minute free speech on the topic of "Suggestions for Revitalizing Tourism at Buseoksa Temple" at the first plenary session of the 2nd regular meeting of the 277th session held on the 22nd.

Lee Jae-won, Member of the Yeongju City Council, Gyeongbuk.

On that day, Councilor Lee Jae-won began his speech by stating, "The annual number of visitors to Buseoksa Temple peaked at 769,584 in 2015 but has decreased to 350,000 in 2022," and added, "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in tourism trends, Buseoksa tourism is facing difficulties with a decline in visitors. I would like to propose several suggestions to revitalize tourism at Buseoksa."

First, he proposed "expanding the spatial scale of the Buseoksa tourist site." He said, "The current development projects focused on parking lots and parks are insufficient to meet tourists' needs," and added, "If we link nearby facilities such as the 'Kongsegye Science Museum,' 'Apple Promotion Center,' 'Agricultural and Specialty Products Exhibition and Sales Center,' and 'Jangsu Fermentation Experience Village,' visitors to Buseoksa will stay longer and enjoy more in Yeongju."

He also argued that "we must proactively respond to fully benefit from the opening of the Maguryeong Tunnel." Councilor Lee stated, "With the Maguryeong Tunnel scheduled for completion in April next year, accessibility from Danyang and Yeongwol to Yeongju will greatly improve, which is expected to increase tourists," and emphasized, "We need to install guide signs and sculptures to promote Buseoksa and establish a close cooperative system with Danyang County and Yeongwol County."

Finally, he said, "We should provide unique food and attractions that can only be experienced at Buseoksa," and suggested, "Just like the vegan burger at Hwaeomsa Temple, our city should develop signature menus using Buseoktae and apples, the main specialties of Buseok-myeon, to brand Buseoksa. Additionally, storytelling about the founding of Buseoksa involving Uisangdaesa and Seonmyeo Nangja legends, creating various performances and video content, would be a good way to make Buseoksa’s image more approachable."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.